The people who give you their food give you their heart.” – Cesar Chavez As the holidays approach and families gather once more, I am reminded again and again that to cook is to nourish, not just the body, but also the spirit. The sharing of food gives pleasure and renewal. Each time we gather […]

“More than kisses, letters mingle souls.” – John Donne There is something incredibly intimate about reading an epistolary novel. It feels a bit like finding a box of letters and discovering the thoughts and feelings that drove someone. Books that are told through the perspective of diaries and letters can sometimes make characters seem more […]

“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.” – Voltaire Literary censorship is something that has existed throughout time. Books have been banned and burned for a plethora of reasons including language, morality, challenging a leader, and violence. Ultimately, it is about control. In Ancient China, 460 Confucian scholars were […]

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney J. Harris As we enter the period where students and parents get ready to head back to school, I find myself thinking about education in general. Receiving an education can open minds to new perspectives, and knowledge obtained is (hopefully) gained forever. […]

“The giving of love is an education in itself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt In the English language, love is a word that has many different dimensions. It is uniquely personal, as no experience with it is exactly the same, and yet it is an experience that we all strive to understand better. Love is the foundation […]

“If music be the food of love, play on.” – William Shakespeare With the world feeling so heavy and dark right now, music is a language that can truly speak to the soul. It takes over when words fail and can feel like the soft moonlight only seen in the darkest of nights. It expresses […]

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” – Mark Twain Between the popularity of Wordle and other word games, thoughts about words have been constantly percolating in the back of my mind. On a recent trip to New York, I popped […]

Sometimes everything can be overwhelming. There have been several times during the last few years with the pandemic, war, and the terrible news cycle, where it all just feels like too much. Even my usual methods of escaping into a new world or character can feel like just another thing to be accomplished rather than […]

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” Amelia Earhart In this toast to trailblazing women, I wanted to recommend memoirs and biographies of women who have changed history in eight different fields. There is a politician, an activist, a scientist, a writer, an artist, a sportswoman, a business […]